Method of making shoes



I. H.' POPE. METHOD 0F MAKING s.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT- I9.

3 S -SH l.

Patented .16 21.'

J. H. POPE.

METHOD 0F MAKING SHOES.

APPucATloN man sans. 1919.

1,388,120. PatentedAug. 16,1921. v 3 SHEETS-SHEET 2- wax l. H'. POPE.

Patented Aug. 16, 1921.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

METHOD APPLlcmo Unirse armas-PATENT eiseres.

JOSEPH 1a. POPE, or HAMILTON, MASSACHUSETTS; Assreivoamo ummm) siren MACHINERY-CORPORATION, or Parnnson, New JERSEY, e coRPo'nArroN or NEW JERSEY.

METHOD OIE MAKING SHOES.

Specification of Letters Patent. Pattented; Aug. 16x, 1921.

k.Application led September 8, 1919. Serial No. 322,525.

To all eer/1.0m t may concern.' Y

'Be it known that I, J osnrH H. Porn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Hamilton, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain Improvements in Methods of Making Shoes, which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like reference characters on the drawings indicating like parts in the several figures. 4

rlhis invention relates to methods of making shoes and is herein described and illustrated in its application to the manufacture of shoes of the type commonly known as moccasins, a moccasin of the type illustrated being a foot covering of which theJ sole, the sides, and the toe and heel portions are vformed from a single piece of material and which is completed by securing to the margin of the forepart an upper piece to form a covering for the toe and instep, a further piece being sometimes added to form a top which may be laced about the ankle. Shoes of this general type have been long used by woodsmen and hunters, but because `of the hand work required they have been relatively expensive and have been so lacking in shapeliness and wearing qualities as to limit greatly lthe Vdemand therefor. An object of this invention is to provide a method by which shapely and durable shoes of this kind `may be economically manufactured with a minimum of manual labor.

A further object of the present invention is to improve the method disclosed and claimed in application for Letters Patent of the. United lStates Serial No. 143,087, filed January 18, 1917, in the name ofy John J. Hevs, without sacrifice of its utility.

The present invention, while preserving the many important advantages and essential steps of the method disclosed in saidV application, presents tages thereover, particularly with relation to the steps of molding thematerial into final shape.

In the practice of the method set forth in the above-identified application the final molding operation is effected between a rigid inner mold and a contractible outer form or partible mold, the parts of which are rigid and move in predetermined paths.` There is,

various practical advantherefore, no adaptation of the molding surfaces to the thickness of the leather and no conformation of one molding surface to the contour of the other. Moreover, in such rigid molds there must be joints kbetween the mold parts which may make marks or blemisheson the molded article where the joints occur ,in fact, severe injury to the stock may result from closing such a mold upon it. l

In my copending application Serial No. 322,52e, filed September 8, 1919, l have disclosedand claimed broadly a novel method by which it is insured that uniform molding action is obtained on all parts of the moccasin being molded whatever the thickness or textural characteristics of the stock, while preserving all the advantages of theuse of molds or forms as described in the said ap. plication of John J. Heys. Iphave found that in applying the molding pressure it is advantageous. to apply ',thepressure from within outwardly to mold the stock to the contour of the rigid outer mold, and the present invention in one aspect is concerned with such application of uniform molding pressure.

A distinguishing characteristic of the present invention consists in applying to a blank, prepared as to the first stages in accordance with the method set forth in the Heys application, a substantially uniform pressure'from within outwardly while yopposing to the exterior surface of the blank a rigid outer form or die. In the practice of the method disclosed in the aforesaid Heys application the preliminary forming of the blank consists in giving it a vessel shape with a bottom and upstanding sides. A characteristic of the present method consists in arresting the preliminary formation of the blank at such a point that the vessel will have, in addition to the bottom and uplstanding sides,` an" outwardly extending flange, In further pursuance of the present `method the flange 'of the blank is clamped between surfaces and pressure applied to the interior of the blank to cause it to be expanded, the expansion being limited by an opposed exterior mold surface preferably rigid. During this operation a considerable partof the flange will, under'usual conditions, be drawn from the confining surfaces and, conformed to the external mold.

ln another aspect the present method consists in arranging a wire about the peripherj or" the external mold and in drawing the wire about the molded blank which is still in the mold and preferably while the blank is still under pressure.

The present method provides also for re-l moving the blank from the mold and placing it upon a wooden last which may be ot substantially the usual form; in causing the wire, for example, by impactive torce, to torni a groove about the periphery of the molded blank; in trimming the excess of material from the margin of the blank at a predetermined distance from the wire; and in applying toe and ankle portions to the last and sewing their lower margins to the margin ot the molded blank while employing the groove formed by the wire as a sewing channel. It desired, the parts of the shoe may be temporarily held upon the last by4 tacks. These and other characteristics ot the invention will appear more fully from the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawings and will be pointed out in the appended claims.

ln the drawings* Figure 1 represents a blank ot leather or similar material to be molded by the method of this invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the blank undergoing a preliminary molding' or breaking-down operation;

Fig. 3 is a view, partly in section, showing' a preliminarily molded blank in an external mold with its margin clamped preparatory to being given its final shape by internally applied pressure;

Fig. 4 is a View similar to Fig. 3 showing the internal pressur-e being' applied to the blank;

F ig. 5 is a view similar to Figs. 3 and 4 showing a molded blank in a mold with the margin clamp removed and a retaining wire applied to the blank;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing the manner of applying' the retaining wire;

Fig. 7 is a view showing' the molded blank applied to a last and the excessive material at its edge being trimmed away;

Fig. 8 is a sectional detail showing the manner of forming the sewing groove in the margin by applying' impactive force to the retaining wire;

Fig. 9 is a sectional detail showing the molded blank and upperY parts of the shoe connected by stitches; and

Fig'. 10 is a view of the completed shoe or moccasin. y

In the practice of the method of this invention a blank a of material such as leather is prepared substantially of the shape shown in F ig. 1. This blank is placed upon a tabl-e 2 having an opening 4 formed therein ot a liquid, water for length preferably slightly less than the length of the shoe to be made and of a relative narrow width. The margin of the blank a is clamped rwith suitable pressure to the top of the table by a plate 6 having" an openshape of the opening 4. A plunger 8 sufi'iciently smaller than the opening 4 to allow for the thickness of the material of the blank is then used to torce the blank into the opening 4 a suthcient distance, the action of the plunger being arrested when the flange o between the plate 6 and the table 2 is oi correct width to enable the flange to be clamped in a subsequent operation. Thus the blank is caused to assume the shape of a vessel or pouch with an outwardly directed flange.

In Fig. 3 a mold 10 is shown which has the internal contour desired for the exterior ot theblank to be molded. The blank, now designated at al, is placed in the mold with its outwardly directed flange lying upon the top tace ot the mold 10. A top plate 12 has an elastic diaphragm 14 secured to its lower face by a ring 13 and screws 15. The plate 14 is held in clamped position on the flange b by means of clamps 1G pivoted to the mold 10 so as to swing over the plate 12 and having' cam levers 18 by which the plate 12 can be securely forced against the flange 7). A fluid under pressure, preferably a example, is admitted through a pipe 20'to the upper face of the diaphragm 14, its passage `being controlled by a. three-way valve 22. Fig. 4 shows the valve 22 turned to admit the liquid which has iiorced the diaphragm. against the blank and the blank against the interior ot the mold 10 with sutlicient pressure to cause the blank to conform perfectly to the mold contour, the molding pressure being ot course equal in all directions. Preferably a vent 23 is provided to allow air to escape from the cavity of the mold 10. This molding pressure causesat least part of the flange Z2 to be drawn into the mold, particularly at the toe where the undercut of the mold at 11 to torni the toe requires material additional to that supplied by the preliminarily molded portion.

Before the blank al is placed in the mold a wire c is placed in the `groove 24 extending about the periphery ot the mold 10, as shown in Fig. 6, the ends of the wire being passed through a hole 26 extending' downwardly and outwardly at one side or" the mold and adapted to receive a tool 28 by which the ends ot' the wireL may be twisted together. The tool 28 comprises a pin having a conical point and two channels extending through it longitudinally to receive the end portions of the wire. After vthe blank has been molded as shown in Fig. 4 the tool 28 is turned to cause the end portions ot the wire ing' therein of substantially the size and l the blank now designated as a2, being still in the mold and having th-e wire c tightened about it. The blank a2 is now removed from Allfl the mold and placed upon a last, as shown in Fig. 7. If desired a few tacks maybe used y to hold the blank upon the last, particularly at those portions of lthe last where the blank has a tendency to stand away from the last. The excess of material above the wire is trimmed away at a uniform distance from the wire, for example by a knife 30, and preferably, as shown in Fig. 8, the wire is sunk into the material by subjecting it to impactive force as for instance by a hammer 32.

The parts required to complete the shoe are now placed upon the last, for instance a toe piece d and a top or ankle piece e. The lower margins of the parts d and e are then secured to the upper margin of the blank a2 by a seam, a curved needle being passed beneath the wire 0 and the stitches, when drawn up, lying in the groove formed by the wire. When this seam has been completed the shoe will appear as in `Fig. 10 which represents the finished shoe.

Having thus described my invention, what y I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. That improvement in methods of makg shoes which comprises preparing a leather blank, molding the blank into the shape of an unwrinkled vessel or pouch, placing the pouched blank within an external mold, and subjecting the interior of the blank to pressure to cause it to assume the shape of the external mold.

2. rlhat improvement in the method of making shoes which comprises preparing a fiat blank of leather, molding the central portion of the blank into the shape of a vessel or pouch, placing the pouched portionV within a rigid external mold, confining the marginal ortio-n and su 'ectino the interior of the blank to uniform pressure to cause it to assume the shapeof the external mold.

3. That' improvement in the method of' making shoes which comprises preparing a flat blank, molding `the centrail portion of the blank into the shape ot-l a vessel or pouch without disturbing the disposi-tion of the marginal portions, Vplacing the pouched por-V tion within an' external-mold, conining the marginal portion, and subjecting the interior of the blank tol uniform. pressure to cause it to assume the shape of the external mold. j

4t. That improvement in methods of making Shoes which consists in preparing a blank, shaping the blank into an elongated pouch having the marginal portions perpendicular to the walls of the pouch, inclosing the pouch in a mold having the form to which the blank is to be molded, confining the marginal portions of the blank, and applying pressure to the pouched portion to cause it'to assume the shape of the mold and to draw Amaterial ,from the confined margin.

5. That improvement in methods of making shoes which consists in preparing a blank, shaping the blank into an elongated pouch having the marginal portions perpendicular to the walls of the pouch, inclosing the pouch in a mold having the form to which the blank is to be molded, confining the marginal portions of the blank, and applying pressure to the interior of' the pouched portion to cause it to expand to the shape of the mold.

6. That improvement in methods of makkingshoes whichconsists in vpreparing a blank, shaping the blank into an elongated pouch having the marginal 'portions perpendicular to the walls of the pouch, inclosing the pouch in a mold having the form to which the blank is to be molded, confining the marginal portionsof the blank, and lapplying pressure to the interior of the pouched portion to cause it to expand to the shape of the mold and `to draw material from the confined margin. 1 f

7. `That improvement in the art of making shoes which comprises molding a substantially flat blank to produce a blank having smooth unwrinkled sides upstanding from the central portion, placing the blank in a mold, and then subjecting substantially all portions of the interior of the blank thus formed to equal molding pressure to cause them to assume the contour of the bottom and sides of the mold. f

S. That improvement in the art of mak ing ,shoes which comprises forcing a substantially fiat blank through an' opening of less area than the bottom of the shoe to produce a blank having substantially straight sides upstanding from the central portion, and then subjecting the interior of the blank thus formed to uniform molding pres sure to cause the sides to assume the contour of a finished shoe part. Y

9. rl`hat improvement in the art of making .shoes which comprises confining the marginal .portion of a substantially flat` to which it is desired to mold the blank, and

subjecting the interior face of the die to substantially equal pressure to cause it to assume the shape of the die.

ll. That improvement in the art of making shoes which comprises preliminarily molding aleather blank to cause it to assume an elongated vessel shape, placing the blank within a last-shaped mold, and then subjecting' the interior of the blank to substantially uniform pressure. Y

'12. That improvement in the art of making shoes which comprises first molding a blank into a shape approximating that olithe desired shoe part, opposing to all portions or" the exterior surface of the blank `except its marginal portion a rigid iorin to which the blank is to be molded, and subjecting the inner face of said portions oi` the blank to the uniform pressure of a iuid, while preventing contact of the. iiuid with the blank, to cause it to assume the shape oit the form.

13. rllhat improvement in the art of making shoes which consists in subjecting 4a blank to a breaking-down. operation to reduce Jche peripheral extent of the blank without the formation of wrinkles, then subjecting the blank thus formed, no part of which has its final form, to further shaping operations to produce a shoe part comprising a sole, side and end portions of the contour of a linished shoe, said operations including the application to the inner surface of the blank of substantially uniform pressure suliicient to expand and shape the blank.

14. rThe method oi making shoes which comprises forming a blank of material into the shape of the bottom, side and ends of a last, binding the margin of the blank by a wire, placing a last in said shaped blank, trimming away the margin ofthe blank adjacent to the wire, placing upon the last the other parts required to complete the shoe, and then sewing the abutting edges of the blank and of the said parts together.

l5. That improvement in methods or' making shoes which consists in preparing a blank with a marginalportion disposed in a plane and the central portion displaced out of said plane, confining the marginal portion oli' the blank, subjecting the displaced portion to bed the wire in the blank, trimming away the [margin oi the blank beyond the wire, placing upon the last the other parts required to complete the shoe, and then sewing the edges or' the blank and the said parts together.

17 That improvement in methods of making shoes which consists in preparinga blank with a marginal portion disposed in a plane and the central portion displaced out of said plane, confining the marginal portiony of the blank, subjecting the displaced portion to internal pressure to cause it to be further displaced while drawing material from the confined margin, limiting said displacement to the shape desired, and securing a filament about the blank at the inner portion of said margin while the blank is still under pressure.

18. The method et making shoes which comprises forming a blank olffmaterial into the shape of the bottom, side and ends of a last, binding the margin or the blank by a wire, placing last in said shaped blank, forcing the wire into the blank to liorm a groove in the blank, trimming away the margin of the blank adjacent to the wire,v placing upon the last the other parts required to complete the shoe, and then sewing the edges of the blank and the said parts together', the stitches being located in the groove.v

19. That improvement in methods Voi' making` shoes which consists in preparing a blank with a marginal portion disposed in a plane and the central portion displaced out of said plane, confining the marginal portion oiE the blank, subjecting the displaced portion to pressure to cause it to be further displaced while drawing material from the confined margin, securing a filament about the blank at the inner portion oit said margin while the blank is still under pressure, and forcing the wire into the blank to iorm a groove.

In testimony whereof l. have signed my name to this specification.

JOSEPH n. Porn I 

